Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Ranisch, Robert, Salloch, Sabine
Format: Preprint
Published: 2026
Subjects:
Online Access:https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.16553
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
_version_ 1866912911986786304
author Ranisch, Robert
Salloch, Sabine
author_facet Ranisch, Robert
Salloch, Sabine
contents The emergence of agentic AI marks a new phase in the digital transformation of healthcare. Distinct from conventional generative AI, agentic AI systems are capable of autonomous, goal-directed actions and complex task coordination. They promise to support or even collaborate with clinicians and patients in increasingly independent ways. While agentic AI raises familiar moral concerns regarding safety, accountability, and bias, this article focuses on a less explored dimension: its capacity to transform the moral fabric of healthcare itself. Drawing on the framework of techno-moral change and the three domains of decision, relation and perception, we investigate how agentic AI might reshape the patient-physician relationship and reconfigure core concepts of medical morality. We argue that these shifts, while not fully predictable, demand ethical attention before widespread deployment. Ultimately, the paper calls for integrating ethical foresight into the design and use of agentic AI.
format Preprint
id arxiv_https___arxiv_org_abs_2602_16553
institution arXiv
publishDate 2026
record_format arxiv
spellingShingle Agentic AI, Medical Morality, and the Transformation of the Patient-Physician Relationship
Ranisch, Robert
Salloch, Sabine
Computers and Society
The emergence of agentic AI marks a new phase in the digital transformation of healthcare. Distinct from conventional generative AI, agentic AI systems are capable of autonomous, goal-directed actions and complex task coordination. They promise to support or even collaborate with clinicians and patients in increasingly independent ways. While agentic AI raises familiar moral concerns regarding safety, accountability, and bias, this article focuses on a less explored dimension: its capacity to transform the moral fabric of healthcare itself. Drawing on the framework of techno-moral change and the three domains of decision, relation and perception, we investigate how agentic AI might reshape the patient-physician relationship and reconfigure core concepts of medical morality. We argue that these shifts, while not fully predictable, demand ethical attention before widespread deployment. Ultimately, the paper calls for integrating ethical foresight into the design and use of agentic AI.
title Agentic AI, Medical Morality, and the Transformation of the Patient-Physician Relationship
topic Computers and Society
url https://arxiv.org/abs/2602.16553